


Because I Had You

by drizzyfinn



Series: waves [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gay Will Byers, I LOVE MILEVEN, Makes me cry everytime
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-01 04:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15134819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drizzyfinn/pseuds/drizzyfinn
Summary: SEQUEL TO 'I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER'Mike and Eleven six years later. They've both moved on from the past.Well, at least they thought they did.





	1. Mike

**Author's Note:**

> IM HAPPY YAY
> 
> TUMBLR: DRIZZY-FINN

**Mike**

_"Michael Wheeler!" The Dean said into the microphone. "Majored in Nursing and Minored in Creative Writing."_

_From the stage I could hear my mom and sisters cheering for me as I walked across the stage. I turned and waved at them and noticed that even my father was smiling, proud of my accomplishments._

_I shook their hands and received my diploma and headed back to my seat. The rest of the ceremony lasted about 45 minutes. When it was all done, I went to join my family in the back._

_"I'm proud of you, son. You did good." My dad smiled and patted me on the back._

_"You're so grown up now! I'm so happy for you, sweetie." My mom pulled me for a tight hug that I happily returned._

_Holly and Nancy both came up to me as well and hugged me and congratulated me._

_"Mikey! Baby!" I turned to see my girlfriend running (or at least trying to run with heels) towards me, big smile on her face._

_"J!" She ran into my arms and I carried her as she hugged me. I set her down and she kissed me on the lips, both of us extremely happy._

_"We did it, baby! We graduated!" We looked into each others eyes for what felt like hours--only stopping because we heard a camera click._

_"Shit! Shit! Abort mission! We've been caught!" Holly said while desperately looking for a place to hide her phone._

_"Language, Holly." Dad said from his seat (which I didn't even notice that he sat in)._

_"Can I see the picture, Holls?" Holly showed her the picture and J smiled._

_"Send it to me! It's cute." J said as she carressed Holly's hair._

_"Well, we better get going if we don't want to miss our reservation." Mom said to everyone. She turned to J, "Do you want to join us, J? I can tell the restaurant to add one more seat. It's no trouble."_

_"It's fine, Mrs. Wheeler. I'm going with my dad and sister to dinner tonight." She looked around and saw them, "Actually, I think I need to go now too. Thank you for the invite, though!"_

_Mom gave her a small smile, "Have fun, dear. Congratulations! And remember, don't call me Mrs. Wheeler! Karen is fine." J laughed and nodded as she kissed my cheek then walked back to her dad._

_"Let's go, graduate." Nancy said, pulling me to the car._

_I laughed and followed her but not before scanning the crowd one more time._

_Looking for_ her _._

_I know she won't be here but I can't help but hope that one day...She will be there._

 

 

Graduation was exactly 2 years ago.

To celebrate, Julia-- _J_ \--and I decided we should go for coffee at her favorite cafe (which she never bothered to take me to until now) and then home to watch movies until we fall asleep.

Unfortunately, Julia was stuck in traffic coming home from work so she was already 30 minutes late. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through social media to pass the time.

"Hey, J, what's up?" The cashier asked. I raised my head, happy to see that my girlfriend was finally here.

But who I saw was definitely  _not_ my girlfriend. 

"Hey, M, can I just get my usual coffee and a...chocolate donut this time please?" She asked the cashier, M, and gave him the money. 

I was in shock. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. 

_She still looks beautiful. She hasn't even aged. She looks just as she did six years ago. Her hair is different though. She has a little blonde in them now._

She sat on the other side of the cafe, right across from my table giving me the perfect view of her. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat and gathered the courage to finally say her name, "El?"

She didn't look directly at me but I saw her eyes widen. She slowly looked up from her phone and her eyes softened.

"Mike?" Her voice was soft and wavering. We stared at each other for what felt like forever. 

I got up to go her. I don't know what to do. Should I hug her? Should I keep my distance? Should I run up and ki-

"Mike." The door swung open right in front of me and halfway through to El. I turned and saw my  _girlfriend_ smiling at me.

"J! Julia! Hi!" I was surprised by her entrance and felt the tension between me and El grow even stronger.

Julia put both her hands on my cheeks and kissed my lips softly. She pulled away and messed with my hair, "Let me just get a drink, babe. Go find a table for us to sit at."

"Oh, uh, I-I already fou-found us a table." I stuttered through the whole sentence. I cleared my throat before pointing to Julia the table I was sitting at, "It's that one right there." There were three tables lined up the window side of the cafe. I pointed to the middle one, my favorite seat in any kind of cafe, restaurant, anywhere. I love window seats because of the calming feeling they give me.

"Hm...Can we sit at that one?" She pointed at one in the corner-- _very_ _far_ away from the windows. 

"I-" She gave me puppy dog eyes. And while they do not work on me, I complied to avoid an argument. I sat down at the table, in the seat facing in El's direction.

I feel embarrassed. I feel like digging a very deep whole that I can just sit and rot away in. I almost argued over a  _table_ with my girlfriend in front of my ex-girlfriend. It's not the kind of thing you want your ex to see since it proves that life is worse without them.

I looked over at El who had a sad look on her face, whether it be from seeing me again or pity for what she just witnessed between me and Julia. Slowly, her sad look turned into a smirk as she moved her stuff to the previous table I was sitting at. She sat in the seat facing me. I looked at her shocked as she went back to her phone and Julia sat down across from me.

"So how was work today?" Julia asked me.

"It was, uh, okay. Christine still treats me like trash haha." I told her, stealing quick glances at El.

"Babe, you okay? You seem so nervous." Julia touched my face, checking my temperature and all that. 

"I'm fine. I'm fine. It's nothing."

Julia didn't seem to buy it but left it alone. We talked a bit more about work and what movies we were going to watch later. When she said she needed to use the bathroom before we go I saw it as my chance to quickly talk to El who was deep in a book.

Once Julia was out of sight I dashed right to El. I sat across from her, "El."

She ignored me.

Her face was covered by the book so I couldn't see her face to tell what she was thinking. "El, please. I don't have that much time." 

She ignored me again and that's when I realized that she wasn't actually reading a book. Instead she had a random notebook up to cover her face.

I pushed down her notebook slowly and saw that she had tears streaming down her cheeks. "El." I said, softer this time.

"Mike." She reached over the table and hugged me. She started sobbing into my sweater. "I've missed you so much." 

"I've missed you too, El. So much."

She pulled away from the hug and sat back in her seat, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. "Six years, Mike. No contact with any of us. You blocked all of our numbers, you only talk to your family, you couldn't even tell me-" Her voice started speeding up and her breathing started to become shallow.

I cut her off, "It's a reason that would take too long to explain. But I had a very good reason, I _promise_." I felt a pang in my chest for the pain that I seemed to have caused her the past few years.

_You didn't want to mess up her life any more than it already was. She had a lot to deal with and you made it easier by leaving._

"Can you tell me sometime? Please. I've missed you so much."

The whole reason I left was because I knew I wasn't--and never will be--good enough for El, for any of them. I've done a great job of not fucking their lives up for six years. I can't just let all that go to waste.

"I don't know, El..." I looked and saw that Julia was exiting the bathroom but looking on her phone. El noticed and for a second I saw sadness--so much sadness--fill her eyes. 

She turned back to me, "I'm here tomorrow. At 7 AM and 5 PM. We can catch up. Talk about anything. I just want to see you again." Julia was getting closer and closer. I quickly went back to the other table and sat down.

I looked at El and mouthed to her, " _I'll think about it._ "

* * *

Julia and I went back to our condo and put in a movie. She put on  _Pretty Woman_ (for the  _third_ time this week) and cuddled with me on the couch. I put one arm around her and my other hand ran through my hair.

_I'm here tomorrow._

_I just want to see you again._

_I've missed you so much._

El's words ran through my head as I stared blankly at the TV. 

Should I go see El? I do owe her an explanation but at the same time I shouldn't just waltz back into her life. She doesn't need or deserve that. 

But, at the same time, I've missed  _her_ so much. I've missed her voice, her laugh, the cute facial expressions she has when she's confused or frustrated or both. I've missed everything about her. I  _want_ to see her; I've badly wanted to see her ever since I left Indiana that night six years ago. 

I have the oppurtunity. I'm off tomorrow which makes this decision even harder. At least if I was working I'd have a valid excuse. 

But this could be my second chance? A chance to start over  _completely_ new with El, something I've wanted ever since I was 18. This time I could do things right and treat her right (as a friend, of course).

_Should_ _I?_

 


	2. El

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UM SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG LMAO LIFE'S CRAZY RNNN
> 
> also, excuse the therapy part and any part of it that is wrong. I haven't been in therapy (yet i have my first appt soon oof) and don't know how it goes yet.

****TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF SELF HARM**

**El**

Was it hard seeing him again? Yes.

So  _excrutiatingly_ painful.

For 6 years, I have learned to try to live without him. In the beginning, I had to pretend he was  _dead_ and that felt better than knowing he was alive. It was better than knowing he was alive and fully able to contact me--but wasn't trying.

And his  _girlfriend._ It's hard to think that he's moved on. 

I've gone on multiple first dates but I haven't felt the need to date anyone since he left. I had this crazy idea that maybe, just _maybe,_ he'd come back and we'd start our happy ever after. 

It took a while to realize that Mike truly is my only one. I don't need to justify him cheating, we both know what he did was messed up. But, I feel like I understand why it all started. He shouldn't have cheated, but I shouldn't have kept something so important from him. We were dating and that meant we should trust each other, not be afraid. 

I looked at the clock,  _6:05._ I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom.  _Puffy eyes and wild hair._ I did my morning routine and got dressed. By the time I finished it was already 6:50 which means I only had a few minutes to walk over to the cafe. 

_I hope he'll be there._

...

_Who am I kidding? Why would he show up?_

I entered the cafe and smiled at Mario. "Hey, Mario!" 

"Sup, J? Same thing as always?" 

"Uh, yeah please." I replied warily, looking around the cafe for him.  _No sign of Mike._

I gave Mario the money and sat down at the middle table by the window.  _Mike's favorite kind of table._

Work starts at 8 and is only another 10 minute walk from the cafe. Which means I can wait here to see if he shows up. 

7:10 I have my coffee but still haven't taken any sips from it. No sign of Mike.

7:20 I have pulled out my planner, adding appointments with clients in almost every box. No sign of him yet.

7:30 I'm worried. Is he really not going to show?

7:40 I put my planner and books away, ready to leave. My coffee is still full but probably cold already. Not here.

7:45 I go to the bathroom. I hoped that when I came out he'd be waiting there. But still, no sign of Mike.

7:50 I sigh as I pick up my bag and start the walk to school. I yell a goodbye to Mario and exit the cafe. I look around to see if he's nearby but he's not.

_There's still 5 pm._

* * *

"J? What's wrong? You look so disappointed." My co-worker, Angela, tells me.

We were both in the lounge getting coffee. My coffee from the cafe already went cold by the time I wanted to drink it so I ended up throwing it away.

"Just a...rough morning is all that I had." I take a sip from my coffee, it tasted bitter. Which is how I feel right now.

She rubs my back, "I hope you feel better as the day goes on." She gives me a small smile before leaving for her first appointment of the day.

I look around the lounge as I see all my co-workers. I truly love my job. I have always wanted to be a therapist to the younger. It's just that, here, this place is so...empty. It makes me feel lonely. I look at them and I talk with them but I don't  _connect_. They're no Max, or Dustin, or Lucas, or Will. They're nothing close to them. It just makes it hard to talk to anyone in here. 

I throw away the cup and head to my office for my appointment with my first kid, Jay. 

He sits down and I sit across from him. We both sit in silence for a few minutes before I start to talk.

"Hi, Jay. I'm Ms. Jane Hopper. But, if you want, you can gladly call me J. Or anything, I'm fine with whatever you want." 

He shifts in his seat uncomfortably. He starts to fidget with his hands and starts tapping his feet.

"Jay? Are you uncomfortable right now? Uneasy?"

He nods his head.

"Why don't you tell me what's making you uneasy right now."

He speaks in a quiet voice, "I, uh, never really talk about how I feel. So, this whole therapy thing makes me uncomfortable."

"We can start really slow. How about you tell me about your favorite movie?"

"I really like the Harry Potter and Star Wars series. I can't narrow it down any more than that." He gives a small smile and I feel happy inside. 

"I have never been able to keep up with all the different things happening in Star Wars--that was more of my friend's strong suit. But, Harry Potter is a very good series. I'm glad we agree on that." He chuckles lightly and I smile at him.

We talk a little more about Harry Potter and other books and movies we both like. In a way, he reminds me of Mike when I first met him. I smile at the memory of pre-pubescent Mike and his dorky ways always trying to impress me. 

"How about your family? Can you tell me about them?" 

He looks back down at the floor and starts fidgeting again. 

"Jay? Are you okay?"

He stays quiet for a few seconds but decides to speak, "My family isn't in the best situation right now. And I-I think that's why I'm so stressed and worried."

I exhale deeply, I'm happy I got him to open up to me. "Can you tell me about your family's situation?"

He closes his eyes and inhales then opening his eyes and exhales. "My dad isn't the best guy there is. He's a good father. He brings home big paychecks and feeds me and my siblings. But he's never been a good  _dad_ , you know?"

"I understand what you're saying. What about your mom? Is she good?"

"My mom is so worked up and angry about my dad that she's drunk every night or goes out to parties with her friends." I frown at his sentence. 

"You mentioned you have siblings? How many?"

"I have one brother and one sister. They're both younger than me. Sometimes...I feel like I'm the one taking care of them. My parents act like we aren't there so I take care of them. I wash them, I play with them, I am _always_ with them." He sighs.

"Sounds like a lot of responsibility to put on a fourteen year old."

"I've been doing it since I was ten. I've gotten used to the responsibilities." 

I think back to my conversations with Nancy. How she always said that before her parents split up, she felt like the parent to Mike and later on Holly. She told me that she would only get about 4 hours of sleep every night because she was constantly stressing over everything. 

"How do you cope with it? I'm sure that with all the responsibilities that you have there must be some amount of stress."

"I, um," of course I already knew the devestating answer but I waited until he told me himself. He takes off his sweatshirt and rolls up short sleeve up a little. And sadly, there are scars. "I can't do it on my arm because then my parents would notice. Same thing with my stomach. So, yeah, this is how I cope."

* * *

I sit at my desk reviewing files. It's about 4:30 and I'm staring at all these files of kids who I'm supposed to help. 

Sometimes I wonder if I can actually do it. Can I help kids the way that my therapists helped me? 

I do some more papers for the another half hour until I leave the office. I wave a goodbye to the receptionist who is also packing her stuff up to leave.

I leave the building and start walking home and I even pass the cafe without realizing it. It's only until I'm about another 5 minutes from home that I realize and sprint back to the cafe. Once it's in view, I slow my sprint to a walk. I look through at the window and see that he's sitting right  _there._ He's at his favorite kind of table on his phone with a coffee on the table. He's dressed in a thick coat to fight the winter cold and a rustic orange beanie on his head with a lot of his hair peeking out the back. 

I walk into the cafe and get another coffee from Mario. I slowly approach Mike, fearing that he'll say that he's meeting his girlfriend here again. He looks up at me and smiles softly at me and motions for me to sit down across from him. 

He breathes deeply, "Hi, El."

I smile, blushing very hard, "Hi, Mike." For the first time in a long time, I was happy to say his name.

"So...how have you been?"

"I'm..."  _Good? Okay? Great? Still devestated that you left with no explanation six years ago?_ "I'm good. What about you?"

He hesitates, "I've been good as well. It's been a while, hasn't it?'

"And whose fault is that?" The words left my mouth before I could stop them. I looked down, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

He sighs, "No, it's fine. I completely deserved that."

I smile, "Yeah, you kind of did." 

He laughs, "Ok, well no need to keep pouring salt into the wound." I chuckle and a warmth in my chest grows. 

"Jane?" Mario calls out from the counter. I tell Mike to hold on as I grab my coffee. I go back to the table and take a sip of my coffee.

"Oh yeah, since when did that start happening?"

I almost choked on my coffee.  _Is he asking about Mario? Does he think that Mario and I are a thing?_ "What do you mean?"

"Jane. Since when did you start going by that name? I thought you hated it." I sighed in relief and took another sip of my coffee. 

"I don't know. I guess after  _that night_ the nickname El wasn't really a name I wanted to hear. Even my dad and my-- _our_ \--friends call me J or Jane now. It sounds stupid, but I guess I save the nickname for you."

He played with the holder on his coffee cup. "How is everyone?"

I frown at how sad he looks when he asks the question. "Will is in New York at NYU and is studying Art or something. Dustin is in Indianapolis. He stayed at home to be closer to his mom in case she ever needed help. And Max and Lucas, you might not even believe me, but they're married now and in California. But they're only staying there for another six months or so and then they go back to Indianapolis. For what reason? I don't know. And well we both ended up here in Chicago."

"Wait a minute. Max and Lucas are married? Are you shitting me right now?" The look on his face was so cute. Eyes wide and full of surprise. His smile so big and happy. Just  _him._

"Nope. I am not shitting you. They got married two years ago, fresh out of college. They wanted to invite you but couldn't find out where you were."

There was an awkward silence as Mike took in all the new things that have happened. 

Finally, I gathered up the courage to ask him the question that has been killing me for six years, "Why did you leave? Why did you leave with no explanation? Why didn't you try to keep contact?" 

"Because of you, El." He spat out. His voice was as low as a whisper, "I left because of you."

Tears welled up in my eyes. My heart was beating so goddamn fast that I thought it would fall right out. All the background noises turned to static and I was focused only on him. "What did I do?"

"More like, 'What did  _I_ do?' I had fucked up your life so much that I couldn't bear to hurt you anymore. I was falling more and more in love with you the longer I stayed. I couldn't--I just couldn't risk doing any more damage. For christ's sakes, I blame myself for when you were in the hospital that night. I feel like I could've done something. If I did something maybe you wouldn't have needed the surgery you had to get that night."

Tears were flowing down my cheeks. My sleeves were all wet from wiping my tears. I put my hand on his hand and squeezed it lightly. "You idiot." I laughed. He looked so confused. I looked him in the eye, "Everything happens for a reason. If I didn't get that surgery that night...I might not have been here right now. You didn't stay long enough to see me afterwards. Maybe, if you did, you would know that the whole tumor was taken out. I have been cancer free for  _six_ _years_ , Mike.  _Six._ That's a pretty long time."

He looked speechless. I couldn't tell if it was shock or happiness or something. He smiled so big and stood up and hugged me. 

"So, you idiot, maybe it's a good thing you weren't there to somehow save me from getting a surgery. Which would have made no difference, by the way. If you were with me the same thing could have happened. So please don't blame yourself for that anymore."

We both smiled and continued our conversation. We talked about him family, my family,  _our_ friends, and everything else. We laughed so hard that the other customers around us were so annoyed that they just got up and left. By the time I looked at the clock, I saw that 3 hours had passed. 

"I gotta get home if I want to wake up in time for work tomorrow." I packed up my stuff and slung my backpack on my shoulder. Mike grabbed my wrist to get my attention.

"Wait, El. Can we exchange numbers? Please? We should really do this again."

I smiled, "Yeah, I'll give you my number." I told him mine and we hugged before I left the cafe. 

I got home and showered and did my nightly routine. I climbed into bed and scrolled through social medias when a number texted me.

_Fr: 872-964-0089  
Night, El._

I smiled at the text before changing his contact name and typing a reply.

_To: Mouthbreather  
_ _Night, Mike._

I sighed in content before going to my contacts and choosing a name. The phone dialed about 3 times before she picked up the phone.

"Hey, J, what's up?" She said.

"First of all, let's go back to El. And second, holy  _shit_ , Max. You'll _never_ believe who I talked to for hours today..." 

**Author's Note:**

> TUMBLR: DRIZZY-FINN
> 
> um so i've literally never been to a college graduation before oops everything is probably wrong in that first part.
> 
> I LOVE YOU ALL AND HAVE A GREAT DAY


End file.
